Therese and Rodin’s perpetrator-victim relationship

Therese and Rodin’s perpetrator-victim relationship is defined by her attempt to oppose his abuse of students and his plans for Rosalie, followed by his branding of Therese and her expulsion. The brand endures beyond Rodin’s immediate punishment: years later, Dubois exploits knowledge of it to intensify a false accusation against Therese, making Rodin’s violence a continuing instrument of her persecution.

The Conflict at Rodin’s School

Therese’s connection to Rodin begins in the context of her efforts to protect Rosalie. Rodin’s abuse and his plan with Rombeau to kill Rosalie for dissection place Therese in opposition to him. Her intervention is an act of resistance to Rodin’s control, but it does not free Rosalie; Therese’s attempt to rescue her fails, and Rodin retaliates by branding Therese and expelling her.

The Brand’s Afterlife

Rodin’s mark follows Therese beyond the school. When she is later accused of robbery at Villefranche, Dubois knows about the brand and urges the officer to examine Therese, insinuating that it would show she had committed earlier crimes. Therese recognizes the tactic and states that Dubois already knows both that she bears the mark and that it was imposed on her through misfortune. The officer nonetheless treats the brand as evidence against her, and it contributes to her arrest. What Rodin inflicted as punishment thus becomes, in another person’s hands, a false sign of criminal character.

Consequences and Reversal

Therese later recalls Rodin among the people whose crimes prosper while her attempts to act virtuously bring suffering. She says that after trying to prevent a murderous surgeon from carrying out a horrible deed, he branded her as a criminal, while he went on to commit his atrocities and make his fortune. The account makes the mark part of a broader pattern in which those who harm Therese evade judgment while she bears the consequences.

After Therese is rescued, a surgeon removes the mark, and her benefactors help restore her health and reputation. Letters from the King annul the unjust proceedings against her and restore her standing as an honest citizen. The official reversal does not bring equivalent punishment for her powerful persecutors: Cardoville and Saint-Florent receive important appointments, and their misdeeds are soon forgotten. Rodin’s brand is therefore removed from Therese’s body, but the unequal system that allowed it to stigmatize her remains intact.